Bernard
Bernard (? - November 2, 1985) was an elderly man who owned a newsstand outside the Institute for Extraspatial Studies on Fortieth and Seventh. Walter Kovacs was a regular customer, usually purchasing a copy of the New Frontiersman.Chapter III Other customers were Malcolm Long, Joey, Derf and Bernie. Biography His father split from Germany in the 1930s when things started going bad.Chapter V He married his wife Rosa on October 27.Chapter VIII He was never social and when his wife died, he lost her social circle as well. He started the business of selling newspapers to esscape his loneliness. He was very talkative, constantly sharing his unsolicited opinions on current events with anyone that happened to be nearby. He believed as a newsvendor he was in a natural position to be well informed about what was going on in the world, and typically espoused cynical views that the world was headed for nuclear war; he belied that they should nuke the Russians. He thought that every man is for himself and his philosophy was to never led anything, but as the threat was more imminent, he started caring for Bernie and others. He found funny the report of Janey Slater that her relationship with Dr. Manhattan was unsatisfactory, as his wife used to fantasize about him. On October 21 he gave the Gazette to a delivery man of Pyramid Deliveries and shared their concerns about World War 3. Later that day he was shocked to see the news about the assassination attempt against Adrian Veidt, considering him a saint. Later while he covered his mercantile to protect them from the rain, Joey came and forced him to put a poster advertising a Pink Triangle concert.Chapter V In October 27 he sold a Gazette including a piece about Kovacs's arrest to Dr. Malcolm Long. Bernard looked excited, because Kovacs was his "famous" customer. The next day Malcolm bought the Gazette about Richard M. Nixon's responce to the fighting spilling into Pakistan, and Bernard had a visibly worried expression.Chapter VI On November 2 he was mumbling concerning the Pale Horse concert in Madison Square Garden and the several strange Knot Tops figures it gathered. Aline approached him and asked if he had seen Joey and then waited at the Promethean. She left angry when Bernard mentioned to tell her that Hustler was due the next day. Later, Gloria Long asked him if he saw her husband. Bernard told her to ask a black watch seller nearby; at that comment, Gloria felt insulted, as if all black people belong to a "negro club" knowing each other. He was killed as part of Adrian Veidt's scheme to force peace upon the world via the Alien Monster. Shortly earlier he had learned that he and Bernie shared a first name, and attempted to shield the boy from harm as they both died.Chapter XI In the final episode, we see that Bernard's news-stand has been replaced by a coin-operated vending machine for the New York Gazette.Chapter XII Category:Characters Category:Deceased